In some situations, it may be desirable to dispense a pressurized fluid substance (i.e., a product) in a convenient manner from a supply of the substance to a receiver or other target region. For example, it may be desirable to dispense a beverage product, consisting of two or more constituent fluid components and/or phases, through a discharge outlet to a cup, glass, or other serving container.
The inventors of the present invention have discovered that some types of fluid substances are difficult to discharge from a supply system as a flow stream having the desired discharge characteristics (e.g., flow stream uniformity or consistency, flow stream cross-sectional configuration, volumetric flow rate, etc.) For example, the inventors of the present invention have observed that the dispensing of some pressurized fluid products may result in an undesirable spray and/or an undesirably low flow rate. Also, at the conclusion of the product discharge, some small amount of the residual fluid product may subsequently fall as a drop or droplet from the supply system outlet.
The inventors of the present invention have discovered that, at least in some applications, one or more of the above-described conditions may result in a “messy” discharge, and/or may result in the discharged product having an aesthetically undesirable appearance, and/or may result in the product being dispensed with undesirable characteristics, and/or may result in an inadequate discharge quantity of the product.
The inventors of the present invention have determined that for at least some applications in which some types of fluid products are dispensed using some types of dispensers (or other product supply systems), it may be desirable to provide a flow control device and process that can eliminate, or at least reduce or minimize, the above-described undesirable discharge conditions or characteristics.
The inventors of the present invention have further determined that it would be beneficial to provide an improved flow control device for a pressurized fluid substance dispensing system containing a fluid substance (i.e., a product) that can be readily dispensed to a receiver (e.g., cup) or other target region. Such a flow control device could be advantageously employed in a variety of applications, including, but not limited to, applications for dispensing consumer products, for example, beverage products.
The inventors of the present invention have also discovered that it would be desirable to provide, at least for one or more types of applications, an improved flow control device that can be configured with the dispensing system so as to have one or more of the following advantages:                A. ease of manufacture and/or assembly, and        B. relatively low cost manufacture and/or assembly.        